Wednesday, June 10, 2009

It's Here!!

So after weeks of waiting, my much anticipated Chemistry book is finally here! In fact I'm so excited about it that I don't feel the need to take my regularily scheduled afternoon nap. And the one recurrent thought I keep playing over again and again in my head is why in the hell did I not do very well in this class 23 years ago? I mean I LOVE chemistry and love the fact that there are things you have to figure out to get solutions! URGH!!!! And the picture shown isn't my actual book I just think it's a cute book!

Other thoughts playing in my mind are about what I'm going to be doing 1 year from now. Will I be awaiting verification of my AMCAS application for the class entering in 2011? Recovering from having taken the MCAT which I'm tentatively planning to take in May 2010? Or will I have resolved myself to take the 6 figure salary while finishing my PhD in Pathology/Infectious Diseases?

Honestly, with the economy the way it is, I'm inclined not to incur any more debt because the future of so many things seems to be changing every minute. For example, I understand that interest on loans for Ris no longer deferred so if you want to be a Surgeon and you went to Harvard undergrad and Yale Med, you're gonna have some serious debt unless you can start paying some things back ASAP. OTOH, I'm aware the docs make a decent amount of money, but 400K debt? That's a bit hard to swallow even though I'm planning to be a Fed from residency and beyond, taking advantage of the loan repayment plan. But suppose that plan disappears? YIKES!!!

I may have previously mentioned that I was selected to be on the advisory board of a major breast cancer organization at the state level and I have to say I'm pretty excited about that. It really helps me know that no longer doing breast cancer research was a good decision while at the same time allowing me to address this issue in minority and disadvantaged communities. I've also never held such a position in my professional life so I have no idea what to expect. Still, I feel like my personal and professional experiences over the next couple years are going to take me in a direction that I never even imagined. And that to a person who was once an over planner, sounds very exciting!!!